At the seventh meeting of the Vietnam-Vatican Joint Working Group in Hanoi in 2018 (Photo: VNA)
Rome (VNA) – The eighth meeting ofthe Vietnam-Vatican Joint Working Group took place at the Vatican on August21-22.
The event was co-chaired by Deputy Foreign MinisterTo Anh Dung, head of the Vietnamese delegation, and Deputy Foreign MinisterAntoine Camilleri, head of the Vatican delegation.
At the meeting, the two sides discussed in depthabout the relations between Vietnam and Vatican, including issues related tothe Vietnam Catholic Church.
They recognised the positive development in thebilateral relations, especially the increasing regular exchanges between thetwo sides, as seen through the 7th meeting of the Vietnam-VaticanJoint Working Group in December 2018 in Hanoi and consultations between theVietnamese inter-sectoral working groups and the Vatican’s non-resident SpecialEnvoy Archbishop Marek Zalewski.
The Vietnamese side affirmed that the State ofVietnam has consistently implemented and continuously improved the policy ofrespecting and ensuring the freedom of belief and religion of people as well ascreating the best possible conditions for the Vietnamese Catholic community tooperate and develop.
The Vatican side appreciated the Vietnamese State’sattention to the Catholic Church and reiterated the hope that the VietnameseCatholic community will follow the motto of good Catholics being good citizensand make active contributions to the country’s development and prosperity,implement well the Church’s teachings, and abide by Vietnam’s law.
Discussing Catholic activities, the two sidesagreed on measures to promote the bilateral relations, focusing on perfectingthe operational regulations of the Vatican’s resident special envoy and theresident special envoy office in Vietnam so as to implement them as soon aspossible.
They agreed to uphold the spirit of dialoguebased on respecting the agreed principles and emphasised the need to increaseall-level delegation exchanges, especially at high level, in the coming time.
During their stay in Vatican, the Vietnamesedelegation paid courtesy calls to Pope Francis, Secretary of State CardinalPietro Parolin andForeign Minister Paul Gallagher.-VNA
The 5th meeting of the Vietnam-Vatican Joint Working Group will be held from September 10-11 in Hanoi, aiming to enhance relations between the two sides, Foreign Ministry Vice-Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said on September 5.
The Vietnam-Vatican Joint Working Group held its fifth meeting in Hanoi on September 10-11, reaching a consensus that positive progress has been made on the Vietnam-Vatican relations.
Vietnam and the Vatican need to continue holding regular meetings between their leaders and actively prepare necessary conditions towards establishing diplomatic relations, concurred Politburo member and Vietnam Fatherland Front President (VFF) Nguyen Thien Nhan and the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on December 18 received a delegation from the Holy See, led by Under-Secretary for Relations with States Antoine Camilleri, who are in Vietnam to attend the seventh meeting of the Vietnam-Vatican Joint Working Group.
Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Under Secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States Antoine Camilleri co-chaired the seventh meeting of the Vietnam-Vatican Joint Working Group in Hanoi on December 19.
The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee is scheduled to convene its 48th session on August 11-13, with August 14-15 set as a backup date, according to the NA Office.
Vietnam’s Ambassador to Brazil and Bolivia Bui Van Nghi has led an embassy delegation to attend official events marking the 200th anniversary of Bolivia’s Independence Day.
Party General Secretary To Lam met with members of the Vietnam Innovation Network in Korea (VINK) and Vietnamese experts living and working in the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Seoul on August 10 as part of his state visit to the RoK.
In an interview with Korean media on the occasion of Party General Secretary To Lam’s state visit to the RoK, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son affirmed that the visit demonstrates Vietnam’s strong resolve to further deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the RoK, with the aim of fostering greater political trust, closer strategic coordination, more substantive and comprehensive cooperation, and stronger bonds of friendship between the two countries' people.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is also a Politburo member and Secretary of the Government Party Committee, attended the 4th Party Congress of the EVN Party Organisation for the 2025–2030 tenure on August 10, directing EVN to ensure power supply to meet the country’s development demands with double-digit growth set for the coming years.
Party General Secretary To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly, along with a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam arrived in Seongnam Air Base in Seoul on August 10 afternoon (local time), beginning a state visit to the Republic of Korea from August 10-13.
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly departed from Hanoi on August 10 morning for a four-day state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK), which is made at an invitation of RoK President Lee Jae Myung.
As part of the ASEAN Day celebrations, the Vietnamese embassy will also host the ASEAN Family Day 2025 in Ottawa to foster solidarity and community spirit among ASEAN members in Canada.
State President Luong Cuong’s trip once again reaffirmed the Party and State’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of relations. It also reflected the strong trend of enhanced cooperation among countries of the Global South in shaping a new, more multipolar, fair and equitable world order.
The outcomes of Party General Secretary To Lam's visit will serve as a driving force and source of inspiration for the two countries to inherit, promote, and elevate their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, contributing to the national construction and development cause in each country, and to peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on August 9 inspected the construction site of the new Phong Chau bridge, and surveyed a planned route for the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway section running through the northern province of Phu Tho.
Across print, broadcast, and online platforms, Angolan media portrayed State President Luong Cuong's visit as a warm and historic occasion, strengthening bilateral ties and boosting Vietnam’s presence in Africa through the AU.
The 500kV Lao Cai – Vinh Yen power transmission line has a total investment of over 7.41 trillion VND (282.5 million USD), and a total length of 229.5 km, passing through 31 communes in the two provinces, and comprising 468 transmission tower foundations.
The visits reflected the elevated position of Vietnam’s foreign policy in the new era—aimed at not only advancing ties with key regional partners like Egypt and Angola but also delivering a strategic message about Vietnam’s commitment to deepening relations with African nations as a whole.
At their talks and meetings, President Cuong and Angola’s top leaders affirmed that the close brotherhood and traditional friendship are a valuable shared asset and a solid foundation for the two nations to advance into a new phase of development.
The ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) attaches great importance to the friendship, solidarity, and comradeship with the Communist Party of Vietnam, and voiced her Party’s wish to further deepen and expand relations between the two sides for the benefit of the Vietnamese and Angolan people.
Vietnam pledges to do its utmost to build an ASEAN of solidarity, consensus, and unity in diversity, and to foster a fast and sustainable development path for ASEAN, grounded in science, technology, and innovation, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
Party General Secretary To Lam called on the criminal police force to accelerate the application of science, technology, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation in criminal investigation tasks such as crime prevention, detection, tracking and verification, ensuring that no area remains out of their reach.
Many Koreans living, studying, and working in Hanoi see the upcoming state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) by Party General Secretary To Lam as an opportunity to generate strong synergy in economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and cultural understanding.
The achievements of the five decades of Vietnam–Angola cooperation provide a strong and enduring foundation, as well as momentum for the two sides to consolidate, expand, and bring their partnership into a new phase of development.